Hopper car door



W. E. WINE HOPPER CAR DOOR June 10, 1941.

Filed Dec. 18, 1939 .2 Sheets-Sheet l gwumvfo'v 5 )m4 MM June lo, 1941. .W E W|NE 2,245,376

HOPPER CAR DOOR Filed Deo. 18, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 10, i941 y William E. Wine, Toledo, ohio, assidui@l toncit-- cast Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 18, 1939,V Serial No. 309,880

2 Claims. `(111105-280) y My invention relates to improvements in doors for cast metal door frames of railway hopper cars.

Due to variations in the shrinkage of the cast metal door frames with which hopper cars are frequently provided, vserious .diculty is often encountered in fitting to .the frames the hinged doors employed for controlling the discharge of lading from the hoppers. This variation in shrinkage is not peculiar to door frames but occurs in the manufacture of substantially all castings, i-t being caused by such things as differences in temperature at which the molten Vmetal is poured into the various 'molds, differences in density of the molds, etc.

The cast metal door frame most widely used on hopper cars has outwardly projecting sealing flanges surrounding the lading discharge opening thereof and the frames are frequently in excess of four feet in width andtwo and one-half feet in height. The vari-ations in shrinkage of the frames being some times asmuch as a quarterof aninch, it is necessary to establish maximum and minimum tolerance limits and castings having dimensions not falling withinthe predetermined tolerance limits are discarded. y

The door which is customarily used with cast frames of the character indi-,cated has rearwardly extending marginal flanges which are adapted to overlap the outer faces of the sealing flanges of .the frame when the door is closed. The doors are made of sheet metal and being formed in a die they do not vary in size to any appreciable extent. In addition to their function of stiffen- .5. l

3 ,andadiacent portions of rthe door frame taken ing the door, the marginal flanges thereof are intended to cooperate with .the flanges of the door frame so as to prevent .the escape of nely divided lading from the car. For the flanges of the door to perform this latter function, it is necessary that the door fit rather accurately with the door frame.

-With tolerances of as much as three-sixteenths of an inch in the door frames, the flanges of a door applied to a frame having the minimum tolmounted on the car for that purpose, or, if by .the

inner-and outer side sheets 4 and application of enormous pressure the door is forced to fully closed position, the flanges may be-spread apart to such an extent as to render them inoperative. v

' The principal object of the present invention is to provide va doorwith marginal flan-ges which are so arranged that they will effectively cooperate with the sealing flanges of all doorl frames falling within'atolerance range of as much as three-sixteenths of an inch.

The primary feature of the invention consists in arranging the marginal flanges of the door so that they will provide with the sealing flanges of a door frame of minimum tolerance a space progressively decreasing in width toward the `outer ends of the marginal Iianges and so that the inner faces of oppositely disposed ones of the marginal flanges are spaced from each other adjacent the inner face of the door a distance at least as great as the 'distance between the outer 'faces Vof the outer end portions of correspondingly opposed seal-ing flanges of a door frame of maximum tolerance.

Other and more specific features of the invention, residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

tion of the car illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional View of the door on a line corresponding t-o line 3 3V of Figure 1. Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the door and adjacent portions of a door frame of i4minimum tolerance.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional View of the door and adjacent portions of a door frame of maximum tolerance, the door being shown in the position it may occupy before being forced to fully closed position.

Figure `6 is a. view corresponding to Figure 5 showing .the door in fully closed position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, indicates the center sill o-f the car, -2 the side sill and 3 one of the car hoppers which has 5, respectively, and a slope sheet 6.

Securedto the forward end' offthe hopper is a 'castmetaldoor frame having rearwardly ex- 'tending side walls 'l' and 8; respectively, secured to the side sheets of the hopper and a bottom wall 9 secured to the slope sheet thereof. The frame is also Iprovided with a top wall `Il) for attachment to a floor sheet II of the car. Intervening between the side sheet attaching walls l and 8 fand the respectively adjacent side edges of the lading discharge opening, with which the frame is formed, are substantially triangular downwardly tapering plate portions I2, the inner edges of which define Ithe side edges of the opening; and intervening between the top Wall.

I and the adjacent edge of the opening isa plate portion I3. as the triangularly shaped plate portions I2, are inclined toward the discharge openingr of the frame so as to facilitate the passage of lading therethrough.

Bounding the marginal edges of .the opening are outwardly extending sealing flanges I4 for cooperating with rearwardly projecting margin-al flanges I5 of door I6 which is provided with hinge. `arms I1 for respectively receiving hinge pins IB mounted in lugs I9 formed integrally with the top portion of the door frame. Projecting laterally of the outer edge of the door is an arm or the like 20 having an upst'anding flange 2I for` vcooperating with a hook 22 which is pivotally mounted on the side of the hopper for retaining the door in closed position.

The outer faces, of the sealing `flanges I4 are disposed at an acute angle to the plane of the lading discharge opening of the frame and to permit the marginal flanges of the door to properly cooperate with the sealing flanges of all door frames fallingwithin the predetermined minimum` andV maximum, tolerance limits, the inner faces of thelmarginal flanges of the door are so arranged that, when the door is in a position corresponding to its closed position, they form a greater angle with the plane of the lading discharge opening than the angle which the outer faces of the sealing flanges form with that plane. In addition, the inner faces of the outer end portions of oppositely disposed marginal flanges of the door are spaced apart a distance at least as great as the distance between the outer faces of the inner end portions of correspondingly opposed flanges of a door frame of minimum tolerance but the distance between these portions of the marginal flanges must not be so great that, when the door is applied to a frame of minimum tolerance, a space will be afforded between them and the 'sealing flanges suiciently large to permit the escape of finely divided lading from the hopper. With the inner faces of the marginal flanges angularly related to the outer faces of the sealing flanges in the manner described, it will be seen, as illustrated in Figure 4, that, when the door is applied to a frame of minimum tolerance, a space between the flanges of the door and of the frame is provided which progressively decreases in width from the outer ends of the sealing flanges toward the outer ends of the marginal flanges. The outlet end of this space is, therefore, restricted and such lading as may pass between the outer ends of the sealing flanges and the inner face of the door into the space will tend to pack therein and thus become entrapped.

The marginal flanges on the door are also so formed that the distance between the inner faces of the oppositely disposed ones are spaced from each other adjacent the inner face of the door a distance at least as great as the distance be- The plate portion I'3, as well tween the outer faces of the outer end portions of correspondingly opposed sealing flanges of a door frame of maximum tolerance. By spacing apart the inner end portions of the marginal flanges the distance indicated, it will always be possible to cause the door to assume a fully closed position on a frame of maximum tolerance even though a force of considerable magnitude is required to do so as in cases where the outer end portions of opposed marginal flanges are Yonly spaced apart the minimum distance, i. e. a

distance equal to the distance Ibetween the outer faces of the inner end portions of the sealing y flanges of a frame of minimum tolerance.

In Figure 5, there is shown a door in which the outer portions of the marginal flanges are spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the outer faces of the inner end portions of the sealing flanges of a frame of minimum tolerance. In that figure, however, the door is shown as applied to a frame of maximum tolerance and it will be seen that the door stands away from the outer end of the sealing flanges of the frame a substantial distance. To enable the door to assume a position corresponding to fully closed position, as illustrated in Figure 6, it is necessary to subject it to a pressure sufficient to deflect the marginal flanges outwardly and to impart to them a permanent set. If, as shown in Figure 5, the distance between the outer ends of the marginal flanges is approximately equal to the distance between the outer surfaces of the inner'ends of the sealing flanges ofthe minimum frame and the distance between the inner ends of the marginal flanges is approximately equal to the distance between the outer surfaces of the outer endsof the sealing flanges of a maximum frame, the inner faces of the marginal flanges will be disposed parallel to the respectively cooperating outer surfaces of the sealing `flanges after the door has once been subjected to'4 sufficient pressure to enable it to assume a 'fully 'closed position.

AIt will be appreciated that, if thedistance between the inner ends of the marginal flanges of the door is less than ythe distance between the outer faces of the outer ends of the sealing flanges of a frame of maximum tolerance, it will be impossible to cause the door to assume a fully closed position when applied to such a frame and still have the flanges of the door and frame properly cooperate because, to force the door completely closed, the flanges will have to be deflected to such an extent that their outer ends would move out of contact with the .sealing flanges and a force of suflcient magnitude to accomplish this would probably result in destruction of the door.

Whilefor purposes `of illustrating the invention, the distance Vbetween the outer ends of 0p- Aposed marginal flanges of the door is Ashown as being approximately equal to the distance between the outer faces of the inner end portions of correspondingly opposed anges of the door frame of minimum tolerance, the distance between the outer ends of the marginal flanges may be `as much as three-thirty-seconds of an inch greater than the distance between the outer faces of the inner end portions of corresponding flanges of such a frame and still the space which will be provided between the two sets of flanges will `not be sufficiently large to enable .the escape of any appreciable amount of lading from the car. Furthermore, the marginal flanges of a door formed in this manner may be quite easily deected and given a permanent set to enable the `door to assume a fully closed position with respect to a door frame of maximum tolerance.

What I claim is:

1. The improvement in sheet metal railway hopper car doors for use with cast metal door frames varying in size? within predetermined minimum and maximum tolerance limits and having sealing flanges surrounding the lading discharge opening thereof whose outer faces are disposed at an acute angle to the plane of said opening, said improvement consisting in providing the door with rearwardly extending marginal flanges adapted to be in contiguous overlapping relation Withl bhei outer faces of the sealing flanges of the door frame and to provide with the sealing flanges of a frame having said minimum tolerance limits a space progressively decreasing in width toward the outer end of the marginal anges, the distance between the inner faces of the outer end portions of oppositely disposed ones of said marginal flanges lbeing less than the distance between the outer faces of the inner end portions of correspondingly opposed sealing flanges of a frame having said maximum tolerance limits so that when the door is first applied to a frame of said maximum limits said marginal and sealing flanges cooperate to prel vent complete closure of the door and force is required to be applied to the door to cause it to assume completely closed position, and the distance between the inner faces of the inner end portions of said marginal flanges being at least as great vas the distance between the outer faces of the outer end portions of said sealing flanges of said maximum frame so that the outer end portions of the marginal anges will remain in contact with said sealing flanges as the door is forced to its completely closed position.

2. The improvement in railway hopper car doors as characterized in claim 1 wherein the distance between the inner faces of the outer end portions of oppositely disposed marginal flanges of the door is approximately equal to the distance between the outer faces of the inner end portions of correspondingly opposed sealing flanges of a door frame having said minimum tolerance limits.

WILLIAM E. WINEv 

